


Undead in aisle 4

by lilacsuns (Milival)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: And an annoying little shit, Buzzfeed Unsolved References, Jaemin works retail and he's Tired, Jeno's a ghost, Just once tbh, M/M, so is renjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 20:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20279329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milival/pseuds/lilacsuns
Summary: Working retail is hard enough already, but Jaemin also has to put up with Jeno, the annoying ghost who haunts his store. He's tired and he's had enough, until Renjun decides to help him and solve the problem himself.





	Undead in aisle 4

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosyjaeh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosyjaeh/gifts).

> Hi Noah !!
> 
> Here's your fornana gift! You asked about ghost Jeno, retail worker Jaemin and Unsolved Renjun, and here it is ! I hope it's as dumb and cute as you hoped ksjkdj  
I'd give you a hint on who I am, but I'm not good at being subtle, so you'll just have to wait for the reveal !
> 
> I really hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing it !  


Working in retail surely wasn’t easy, but to Jaemin, that was an understatement— he was pretty damn positive that the average employee didn’t have to deal with a fucking _ghost._ When he’d started working here, Jaemin had prepared himself for angry customers and shoplifting, but one thing he definitely hadn’t expected was having to deal with Jeno. 

Jeno was the most annoying person Jaemin had ever met, that was, if he could even call Jeno a person at all. He was the ghost haunting the shop; roaming around all day, and making it his personal mission to make Jaemin’s life  _ hell. _ From what he’d gathered during his few months of working there, Jeno hadn’t been a ghost for that long, and was still kind of a  _ ‘newdead’  _ (Jaemin had hated that pun the minute it had left Jeno’s mouth, but he didn’t have a better way to describe him). Because of that, the ghost wasn’t totally familiar with what he could and couldn’t do yet. What he could, and  _ loved  _ doing though, was getting on Jaemin’s nerves. And he was  _ very  _ talented at that, as they both quickly found out.

It was one of those days, when Jaemin wanted one of two simple things: to be able to finally go home, or the ability to touch Jeno so he could strangle him and make him shut up. The ghost had spent Jaemin’s entire shift hovering behind him, commenting on every single thing Jaemin did or said with a smug smirk. It was the first thing the pink-haired boy had seen when he’d arrived in the early afternoon, and he knew that smirk meant nothing good for him. 

And he’d been absolutely right, because not  _ five hours later _ , he was about ready to pull his hair out. He remembered the first time he’d met the ghost; he’d found him kind of cute, with his eye-smile and his questions about Jaemin and his life. But the questions hadn’t stopped, and had turned into constant and relentless teasing and far too many bad puns, and suddenly Jaemin didn’t like Jeno much anymore. The worst thing was, he couldn’t even get rid of him— he was always there. The only thing he could do was ignore him and try not to react to the teasing. 

But sometimes, it got to be a bit much. When Jaemin was too tired and irritable, or he was sick of putting up with him, and he snapped back. Jeno loved those times the most, because ultimately, he thought Jaemin was  _ fun _ . Fun to tease, even though he was hard to get much of a reaction from. And Jeno was so,  _ so  _ bored. He was stuck in this shop, and Jaemin, though he spent more time annoyed at him than anything, well… he paid  _ attention _ . The boy acknowledged Jeno’s existence. He listened when Jeno talked, and it was fun to finally have some company. So Jeno teased, pushed, and pulled, and was nothing short of delighted when Jaemin snapped back at him.

The younger boy didn’t know that though. He didn’t even think about his impact on the ghost, too tired of his day as he left with a quick ‘ _ See you tomorrow’ _ that could only be directed towards Jeno, because they were the only two left in the shop after closing hours. 

  
  


The sight Jaemin was met with when he got home was almost enough to make him cry— Renjun, his best friend and roommate, was already putting a dish full of food on a fully set table, a playlist from their shared Spotify account in the background, clearly ready and waiting for him. If he wasn’t so hungry, he might’ve started sobbing right here in the middle of the living room. 

\-  _ Hey Jaem. Come on, hurry up before it gets cold _ , Renjun said with a smile. 

\-  _ I’m so tired Junnie, you have no idea _ , he whined as he sat down, bag and hoodie thrown on the sofa without a care.

\-  _ Annoying customers? _ he asked, filling the youngest’s plate.

\-  _ Annoying Jeno. He never stops, I swear. I would kill him if it meant he’d close his mouth for just ten minutes.  _

\-  _ Can’t kill him, he’s a ghost.  _

\-  _ Fine. Then I’d do whatever it is I’d have to do, so he shuts up. I’m so tired of hearing him talk all day long. _

- _ No, you’re tired because you’re working retail and it sucks, stop putting the blame on a ghost.  _

\-  _ You believe in ghosts. You can’t doubt me Renjun, that’s like, violation or the friendship pact or something.  _

- _ I’m not breaking any pacts Jaem. I’m just saying, the probability of you seeing a ghost is thin. And who even haunts a store? _

\-  _ Jeno! _ Jaemin exclaimed, frustrated. 

- _ You know what, you don’t have to believe me, I know I’m right, and I know that Jeno is a fucking brat, and it’s all that matters. _

\-  _ I’ll come _ , his best friend said after a while.

\-  _ What?  _

\-  _ I’m gonna come to that stupid store you work at and see that stupid ghost you keep talking about for myself. If I see him I can kick his ass for you _ , he teased. 

- _ But I’d have to get a photo of him or something before I do. Just so I can prove I’ve seen a ghost, you know? _

\-  _ No. No no no no, you’re not coming to my workplace to have your own little Unsolved episode, this is not happening. No. _

\-  _ Oh, come on. I won’t do anything bad, I just wanna see if I can meet that ghost friend of yours. I’ll even come for closing hours, that way I won’t actually disturb you while you’re working. _

\-  _ Just because the store is closed doesn’t mean I’m not working _ , Jaemin sighed, starting to understand that his roommate had already decided on this, and that there was no way he’d change his mind now.

\-  _ Then, I don’t know I… I won’t disturb the customers or something.  _

_ \- I hate you. _

_ \- No you don’t. I made you food. _

\-  _ Yeah, I don’t, _ Jaemin agreed with a sigh, throwing his head back. 

- _ I’m tired, Jun. So tired. _

\-  _ You work crazy hours Jaem, of course you are. You should go to sleep, I’ll take care of cleaning up, okay? _

- _ Thanks bub _ , he said with a smile, going to take a shower and then crash in his bed, ready to fall asleep any minute now. 

Days had passed, morphed into  _ weeks _ , and Jaemin had kind of forgotten about Renjun’s promise to come hunt down Jeno, Buzzfeed Unsolved style. It all came rushing back to him on a Saturday evening, when he saw his best friend walk in with that smile that meant no good. 

He groaned immediately, head dropping to the counter as he felt Jeno swoosh around him, laughing in what seemed like excitement. Then two seconds later, when Jaemin couldn’t feel his presence near him, he was suddenly terrified. 

When he finally looked up, and was met with the worst thing he could have imagined— Renjun and Jeno, both grinning, talking to each other. Jaemin wasn’t sure he liked how things were turning out. 

Obviously, Renjun no longer doubting about Jeno’s existence was a plus. But it also felt like somehow nothing good was in store for the pink-haired boy. Either the two would hate each other, which wouldn’t end well, either they’d love each other, which might arguably be worse. It was all a mess. Jaemin’s  _ life  _ was a total mess, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. 

...And then they were gone. 

He could hear them talking somewhere between the aisles, but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, nor could he leave the counter to go check if they weren’t causing a disaster. 

They didn’t come back to the front until after Jaemin had closed the door and turned off the main lights, both looking way too smug for the youngest’s comfort. 

\-  _ What did you do?  _

\-  _ Nothing _ , Renjun answered with an innocent smile that was positively fake.

\-  _ Renjun says you don’t want to work less because you’d miss me too much _ , Jeno said, dropping a bomb with the brightest and most smug smile Jaemin had ever seen. He didn’t even know this was possible. 

\-  _ Yeah, well, Renjun should learn to shut his mouth and stop saying dumb shit _ , Jaemin bit back, trying to ignore the blush he could feel creeping up his neck. 

\-  _ He’s fun, Jaem _ .  _ I don’t know why you complain so much about him. _

_ \- Spend one full day with him making a comment about every thing you do, I dare you. _

_ \- I’d have to bring him back to our apartment for that though _ , Renjun teased with a knowing smile, leaving his best friend speechless, frozen with his mouth half-open.

_ \- You’re right, he  _ does  _ look funny when he’s trying to come up with excuses _ , Jeno mused from beside him, hovering above Renjun’s shoulder, clearly enjoying everything.

_ \- Did you both decide to join forces to make my life miserable? _

_ \- Nothing like that ! We decided to make it our mission to tease the shit out of you because it’s really funny _ , the oldest answered. 

_ \- I despise you. Both of you.  _

_ \- No you don’t _ , Jeno teased.

_ \- ...Fine. Maybe I don’t _ , Jaemin admitted, now full-on blushing. 

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t that bad, he thought as he finished what he was doing, listening to the two other boys bickering and laughing in the background. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> A huge thanks to the amazing people who were nice enough to beta this fic and help me find a title, y'all are the best


End file.
